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Don’t Throw Mud! 5 Rules to Avoid Career Slander

It’s All About Networking

In the CRE recruiting space, we have a saying: “It’s all about networking.” We’re always asking, “Who do you know?” Because a professional network is vital to getting what you want in your career. You help others, and they in turn help you. Maintaining a vibrant network is key in landing your dream job.

But if you’ve bad-mouthed your previous employer or publicly or virtually engaged in a protracted argument with a former client, guess what? You are introducing negativity into your network and spoiling your professional brand.

We tend to think of our interactions as only between us and those we are engaging. But others take note. And yes, you may be totally in the right! But is it worth your career to air the dirty laundry of the company you just left? The mud you sling really can and does splatter back on you.

Avoiding career slander is a two-way street. If you slander others, you will be slandered. But if you rise above the fracas, you project professionalism and ethics that others will notice and value.

Understand Career Slander to Protect from It

Pretending you are immune from stigma or repercussions just because you may be in the right in a given situation is naïve. If you want to maintain a fresh and clean professional aura above the petty squabbles and gossip, play it smart. Here are five rules to remember and live by.

1. If it’s online, it’s forever.

If you say it online, it really is part of your permanent record. Think twice about that snarky comment you want to type to an unreasonable client on social media. Be careful about anything you post on social – employers are checking your accounts.

2. Don’t badmouth an employer.

You never know who that hiring manager is friends with. Not only are you risking offending a hiring manager when you discuss your bad experience with a former employer, but you’re also projecting negativity. No one likes a gossip. If you can, avoid naming names or dwelling on the negative things that happened in your previous position. Focus on lessons learned and circumstances overcome.

3. Anyone could be listening.

It’s important to realize in avoiding career slander, that anyone and everyone can be your accountability buddy. Because you never know who’s listening. Even a waitress or secretary could be somehow connected to the person or entity you are discussing. It might seem like a harmless comment to someone you share an elevator with, but it can get around.

4. Gossip hurts you, too.

If you gossip about one client to another, chances are, that client is now wondering what you say about them behind their back. By getting off your chest something you don’t like about someone who’ve worked for, you literally diminish future opportunities.

5. Career slander is the wrong foot to start on.

If you’re beginning a new career search or positioning yourself for a better position, slinging mud is absolutely unhelpful. Rather than focusing on what went wrong or how underappreciated you are, reflect on what unique skill set and attitudes you bring to the table. If the topic comes up in an interview, we always encourage interviewees to describe the differences between the two positions and why the company you are currently interviewing with would be a better match and a more appealing one to work for. So, avoid long-lasting career slander in your future job search by thinking in terms of opportunity and skills matching

We’ve all been on short end of the stick. We’ve all been wronged or rubbed the wrong way by someone. As tempting as it may be to discuss this in a job interview or casual exchange with a colleague, don’t. If you never sling mud, your chances are much higher of coming out clean in the end.

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8 Do’s and Don’ts for Graduate Job Seekers

Life Sciences Needs More Deal-Makers

Leave a Comment / Blog, Industry Insights

Breakneck expansion and new spending have put life sciences — and the developers and brokers who build and sell lab space and specialized offices — in an enviable position. But the sector is missing one key ingredient.

“Today we have immense amounts of capital, lots of focus and a big market,” Cushman & Wakefield Director of Business Intelligence Brendan Carroll said. “What’s lagging is the skill.”

The maturity of the life sciences market has lowered the perceived risk of investment, inviting new ventures and new capital. According to S&P Global Market Intelligence, biotech alone raised $20B in private equity and venture capital, and UBS found healthcare represented 14% of all deal activity in private equity last year. With President Joe Biden requesting billions of dollars of new spending for the nation’s top health organizations, it’s possible that even more investment may flood the industry.

It’s created a rush for space, and a big gap in the number of real estate professionals with the specialized knowledge to talk and execute ground-up research centers or converting traditional commercial spaces to labs. Newmark’s 2020 year-end analysis on the sector found two can’t-miss symbols of a continued boom in deal-making, amid so many signals of growth: extremely low vacancy, especially for wet lab space, and sprawling construction plans. The top 14 life sciences markets have 36M SF under construction right now.

With the coronavirus pandemic acting as a catalyst for the booming life sciences development market, Carroll wasn’t surprised 2020 was a monster year. Deal volume rose 93%. But what makes that figure even more intriguing is that Carroll could have told you that was going to happen back in late 2019.

“What’s actually more interesting is that the increase had nothing to do with the circumstances of last year,” he said. “Larger deals were already in progress.”

Carly Glova, president of Building Careers, a commercial real estate talent firm based in San Diego, one of the nation’s life sciences hubs, said life sciences roles, especially on the development and project management side, have been her clients’ biggest need. Life sciences development and acquisition roles are in high demand, and often earn increased compensation; equity or other incentives average 30% of their total compensation, up to 100%, Glova said.

“That talent pool is comparatively small and folks with that experience can command high comp packages,” she said.

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Get the Job You Want with These 8 Proven Networking Tips

Leave a Comment / Blog, Job Search, Set Yourself Up For Success

Whether you’re in a dead-end job, on the beach, or targeting your dream job, these networking tips are your key to landing the job you want.

Yes, it’s a candidate’s job market right now. If you’re looking for a better job, now is a good time. If you’re unemployed, there are great CRE jobs out there waiting for you. Maybe you’re currently employed, but not engaged. A recent Gallup poll showed that around the world only about 15% of the workforce truly likes their job.

So, how do you access that vibrant job market, tap in, and get the role you really want? You’ve taken the necessary steps to properly brand yourself for your dream job, you’ve updated your resume, and you’ve identified target companies and roles to pursue. Now what?

Try These Networking Tips to Get the Results You Want

While there may be numerous available positions right now, it’s a unique time to begin a job search. Networking isn’t as easy as it once was. You want to put your best foot forward and be strategic about this. So, what’s the silver bullet? How do you make the most of this time of opportunity and network like a boss?

1. Connect with Alumni

Social get-togethers are still limited right now, but many universities have transitioned to virtual networking events. Sharing an alma mater is a strong connection that can be leveraged to uncover and explore new work opportunities. And don’t wait for virtual events. Reach out to alumni on social media – especially those working at your dream companies or in your ideal career path.

2. Discuss Goals with Friends & Family Start with those already close to you. Discuss your ambitions and goals with your friends and family. Maybe your dream job is right under your nose. Ask! Ask those closest to you who they know who might be helpful or involved in a similar position or have a connection with a particular company.

3. Ask for an Informational Interview One of these least known networking tips is to reach out to your preferred companies, even if the role is currently filled, and ask for an informational interview. Ask the hiring manager for information about company culture, required skills, and key traits to underscore in a potential interview should the position open.

4. Put Yourself Out There Seriously. Just talk. Reach out to people you already know, someone pumping gas next to you, people you meet at the gym. Be cordial. Mention that you’re in the middle of a job search. Ask them what they do, who they know. Be friendly and open a conversation. That’s what networking is!

5. Get Contact Info

None of the above networking tips matter much if you don’t follow up. Ask for an email address or phone number. Reach back out in a week or so to nurture the relationship and inquire about any changes on their horizon.

6. Get Serious About Social Networking is especially challenging in these times when face-to-face contact is limited. And there are so many spammers on social media. So, there is an opportunity for you to stand out. Reach out to former professors, colleagues, or potential hiring managers. Don’t pitch yet. Just open the conversation, and then try for a phone call.

7. Perfect Your Elevator Pitch

Develop a 30-second explanation of what you’re looking for and what you can offer a company. Rehearse it. Your elevator pitch must be pre-written and comfortable. You want to be ready on the fly when a chance networking encounter pops up.

8. Volunteer

This may be the most overlooked of these networking tips, but it can be very powerful. There are so many causes in need of your help. Your ability to be a rock star just by showing up and helping out are immense. If you are dedicated to volunteer causes, it’s likely that you are also the type of person that will excel at work. These events present immense potential for opening new relationships and growing your network rapidly.

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5 Common Resume Mistakes to Avoid

Leave a Comment / Blog, Interview Tips, Resume Ideas, Set Yourself Up For Success

Effective resumes feature killer content, consistent formatting, and an attractive design. Careless mistakes, lack of detail, and general sloppiness can hurt your chances of making it to the interview, even if you’re fully qualified for the position. Here are five common resume mistakes to avoid – and tips on how to keep them out of your resume.

1. Grammatical Errors and Typos

By the time you finish writing, editing, and tweaking your resume, it’s easy to gloss over misspellings and grammatical errors. However, those mistakes can make you seem careless to a hiring manager. Correctable slipups send the message to potential employers that you lack attention to detail and don’t check your work. It’s a surefire way to torpedo your chances of securing the job you want.

Good writers follow a simple rule: everyone needs an editor. The simplest way to combat spelling and other errors is to have someone qualified give your resume the once-over. You can also ask a family member or friend to read through your resume and look for any errors. To a fresh set of eyes, spelling mistakes and grammar issues will leap off the page, and a second opinion can be invaluable on your resume.

2. Being Vague

When listing your experience, you want to show both what you’ve done and what you’ve achieved. Not everyone has a shelf full of awards, and most hiring managers don’t expect them. However, if you’ve helped create value, reduced inefficiency, cut costs, or increased the bottom line, be sure to say so.

Some people may counsel you to phrase all your duties as accomplishments, but we recommend a more natural mix of what you’ve done and how you’ve helped your previous employers. When in doubt, keep it simple and be specific by using data and metrics.

3. Too Many Needless Details

Knowing which details to cut can be tough. Start by removing any information that is irrelevant to the job description. Extraneous information includes professional and educational experiences that don’t apply to the position. This “padding” won’t help you secure the job, and it can obscure your relevant experience and credentials.

Again, customize your resume each time you apply for a position. Look at the job ad and include the skills and experience it calls for prominently. Doing so will require a few minutes of editing each resume, but the extra time will pay off. A tailored resume shows initiative.

4. Lack of Focus

Employers screen your resume in as few as six seconds, so make sure your professional summary sums up your abilities in a few sentences. Include a short description below your header – one or two sentences is ideal – that draws in the reader and showcases your abilities and talents.

5. Too Long or Too Short

Too often, job seekers with a decade or more of professional experience will cram all that experience into a one-page resume. On the flip side, jobseekers with less — or even zero — relevant professional experience will try to find a way to fill multiple pages. A rule of thumb is to have one resume page per decade of work experience.

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Why Don’t Women Get The Top CRE Jobs More Often If Research Shows You’re Better Choosing Them?

Leave a Comment / Ask An Expert, Blog, Building Careers, Industry Insights

The lack of women in top positions at commercial real estate firms isn’t due to too many cutthroat leaders that are obsessed with the deal above all else. The problem also isn’t a lack of strong candidates or that men are naturally better leaders.

About 36.7% of people in commercial real estate are women, according to a 2020 survey by Commercial Real Estate Women Network, a networking and advocacy group for women in commercial real estate. But women only make up 9% of C-suite roles, and across all levels they earn 34% less than men. Those statistics have remained virtually unchanged for a decade.

A 2018 Pew Research study found that women see systemic barriers much more clearly than men. Just half of men, but 70% of women, believe a major reason women are underrepresented in top positions is that they have to do more to prove themselves. The same study found that more than half of Americans (57%) believe women and men have different leadership styles, but among those that do, the majority (62%) believe it doesn’t matter in their effectiveness, and more people believe women have a better approach (22%) than men (15%).

However, some representatives of this field point to a shift in company culture that’s helping create a more supportive environment to support women working in CRE to ascend the ranks. Carly Glova, president and executive recruiter at Building Careers, said that companies that promote and publicize a better work environment, including work/life balance, with HR policies and benefits that meet a larger mission statement and value, can help women succeed in this traditionally male-dominated industry. (CREW research found numerous studies showing more gender-diverse leadership corresponds with improved financial performance.)

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How to Develop Your Soft Skills to Advance Your Career

Leave a Comment / Blog, Resume Ideas, Set Yourself Up For Success

We’ve all heard what an asset it is in the job market to know data analysis, be able to code in C++, and speak fluent Spanish. But what about being able to listen well, to manage your time like a boss, and to lead a team meeting that leaves everybody smiling afterward? While more difficult to measure and quantify, these types of skills – soft skills – are the glue that hold together any workplace.

Being able to identify your soft skills and give examples of them is a critical part of any job interview. Many people choose to list soft skills on their resume to make it stand out. If you’re having trouble identifying your soft skills – or know what soft skills you have, but want to develop them more – you’ve come to the right place. This guide will help you single out and develop your soft skills – which will ultimately lead to more successes in interviews and on the job.

What are Soft Skills?

Soft skills are character traits, personal attributes, and other non-technical abilities that help you work and communicate with other people. To develop your soft skills, some you might have to study and learn, and others might come to you naturally. Listening, communication and delegation are all examples of soft skills.

The opposite of soft skills are hard skills, which are technical abilities like knowing how to code in python, make a graph on excel, or speak a foreign language. While hard skills can be more easily defined and measured, soft skills are more difficult to measure. But that doesn’t mean they’re any less important – in fact, if you’re not a good communicator, you’ll have a difficult time even getting past the first interview!

How to Identify Your Soft Skills

At many points during your education or career, you’ve probably worked on a team. But are you good at teamwork? Are you so good at teamwork that you would include it on the skills section of your resume? Not sure? Let’s talk about identifying your soft skills.

Identifying your soft skills isn’t necessarily something you can do alone, either. Ask friends, colleagues, and even former employers which soft skills come to mind when they think of you. You can also ask them to bring up specific examples of when you used that soft skill well. You might even discover things about yourself that you didn’t know before. For example, if you think you’re disorganized, but everyone you talk to points to your organizational skills as somewhere you excel, you might want to consider changing that perception of yourself – and including it on your resume!

Here is a list of soft skills. Do you identify with any of them? Can you point to examples in your career where you used them to accomplish something?

Time management
Teamwork
Communication
Adaptability
Ability to perform under pressure
Innovation
Listening
Delegation
Problem-solving

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Signs You Aced The Job Interview…Or You Didn’t Ace It

Leave a Comment / Blog, Interview Tips, Job Search

You just wrapped up a job interview for a role you’re excited about. You think it went well. But wait, did it?

Now that you’ve had some time to take a breath and reflect on that conversation, the confusion and self-doubt have kicked in. You’re chewing your nails and overanalyzing every answer, offhand remark, and facial expression, searching for clues about whether or not you can expect a second interview. Were you the candidate who stood out the most from the interviews?

You aren’t alone—we all do it. The job search is filled with a lot of uncertainty, and there’s no surefire way to get inside your interviewer’s head. Fortunately, there are a few signs you aced the job interview (and conversely, there are some clues you can pick up on if it didn’t go so well).

Signs You Aced the Job Interview

Before we jump in, a friendly disclaimer: When it comes to the interview process, there’s really no such thing as foolproof signs. While the things we’re about to discuss are generally positive, they aren’t a guarantee. Similarly, if these things didn’t happen in your interview, that doesn’t mean it was a disaster. There are always exceptions.

Got it? Good. Now, let’s talk about some signs that you likely hooked that interviewer and are one step closer to landing that job.

Your Interview Ran Longer Than Scheduled

Your interview was scheduled for half an hour, but it was closer to 45 minutes or an hour before your conversation wrapped up. Chances are, your interviewer is interested in you and was highly engaged in the information you were providing.

Your Conversation Flowed Naturally

While this is easy to forget when your nerves are running high, interviews really are human-to-human conversations. Kaplan explains that if your interaction flowed more like a natural discussion and less like an interrogation, that’s a positive. Polite small talk and some friendly back-and-forth indicate that the interviewer was not only interested in you, but also felt a certain level of comfort.

Just be aware that some companies conduct very structured interviews with set lists of questions asked in a certain order to satisfy diversity and inclusion criteria or abide by other company policies, so don’t get discouraged if your interviewer seemed to stick to the script.

Your Follow-Up Email Got a Quick Response

You know the importance of sending a thank you note after your interview, and you took that advice and wrote a friendly, personalized email. That message received a response almost immediately to thank you for your time and to tell you that they’ll be in touch soon.

A quick reply is confirmation that you’re top of mind and they want to keep you engaged in the hiring process. Even better than that? There was an email about next steps in your inbox before you even had a chance to press “send” on your own thank you note.

Signs Your Interview Didn’t Go So Well

Now let’s talk about the flipside: You have this sinking feeling that maybe your interview didn’t go as well as you hoped. If you noticed some of the following signs, they could mean that you need to continue your search and prepare to nail future interviews with other employers.

Keep in mind that nothing is a guarantee, and the only way you’ll know for sure is when you get either a polite rejection email or hear that the company wants to invite you to do a second interview, an interview assignment, or another next step.

Your Interviewer Wasn’t Paying Attention

If your interviewer appears to be somewhere else mentally or you notice them looking at another screen during your video interview, Kaplan says, they might be disinterested or disengaged from your conversation.

Of course, it’s entirely possible that they were taking a quick look at your resume or their list of interview questions. So don’t place too much weight into a brief distraction or break in eye contact. That’s way different from a lack of commitment to your entire conversation.

You Didn’t Have an Opportunity to Ask Questions

If you were given the opportunity to ask questions but your interviewer provided really curt or vague answers, that’s also not a great sign for your candidacy or for that employer’s commitment to respectful and transparent communication.

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7 Helpful Tips to Engage Employees Remotely

Leave a Comment / Blog, Employers, Set Yourself Up For Success

As many CRE companies return to work, while balancing distancing measures and restrictions, it’s crucial for employers to understand how to continue to engage employees remotely. It’s hard motivating and managing from a distance, but it’s probably going to be a common reality going forward.

It pays for competitive CRE firms to get this right. Maintaining a cohesive and productive team – even through remote work – is vital adapting for the future.

Is Remote Work Here to Stay?

While many of us hoped to get back to our old office life as soon as possible, many others found they preferred work from home. And there are numerous reasons to believe working remotely will be far more common in coming years than it ever was before. Let’s look at the data:

Remote working has increased 140% since 2005.
Allowing remote work is better for employee retention, with a 25% improvement over companies who don’t allow this flexibility.
It’s also better for productivity, with a 24% boost over employees at non-remote companies.
16% of all companies hire only remote workers.
94% of professionals in CRE believe remote working will continue after the crisis is over.

It’s Not That Hard to Engage Employees Remotely

With remote work growing and becoming more normal, it’s absolutely crucial to know how to drive a positive team synergy from a distance. But how do you engage employees remotely? How do you get them excited about the mission and keep tabs on their progress when they’re not even in the office?

Fortunately, it’s not that hard. Here are some tips to help you inspire and engage your work-from-home and telecommuting employees just as well (if not better) as in an office!

7 Helpful Tips

1. Set clear expectations Don’t let employees feel alone and isolated. There is a danger they could wither on the vine without a clear understanding of their position in the team. Make sure there are written details and expectations laid out from what their working hours are to progress points and goals to achieve.

2. Communicate Clearly Professionals in the commercial real estate business already know how important it is to communicate – both with clients and internally. Effective business communication is all the more important when engaging employees remotely.

3. Schedule Regular Video Calls

There’s something about getting on a video call with your supervisor and/or fellow team members that brings you out of your shell and forces engaged creativity. Schedule them at least once a week, even if only for 15 minutes.

4. Use Chat Make sure you and your team share a chat app in common to allow for more casual back and forth. So much of the success of the in-office dynamic was water-cooler chit-chat. It just can’t be adequately replaced by formal video meetings and email exchanges. A chat app will allow for both quicker responses and more casual conversations.

5. Be Flexible Remember, the beauty of remote work is the flexibility. To really engage employees remotely, be sure you don’t try too hard to re-create the office structure virtually. Whenever possible, give employees autonomy over their schedule, etc. This helps to build trust, creative liberty, and engagement.

6. Be Sociable Virtual team building may be a challenge, but it should not be overlooked. Set up hangout times, activities, or even in-person events if possible, to stave off loneliness and disconnect.

7. Mix It Up

Gallop found that the optimal mix for employee engagement is 3-4 days remote and 1-2 in office. When possible, engage employees remotely by bringing them back to the office a day or two each week. They’ll appreciate the change, and you’ll find managing and engaging them to be much easier and automatic.

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